WE CONTINUE our study of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. This week, we discuss the run-in with the citizens of Thessalonica and why they were upset by the gospel. We also talk about why the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians and Paul’s message on Mars Hill in Athens.

Then we turn to Paul’s letters to the church at Thessalonica and the prophecies he shares of the Lord’s return: Paul’s reference to “those of us who are alive” (1 Thess. 4:15) implies that Christ’s return is imminent, with no preconditions; the “thief in the night” refers to the coming Day of the Lord, a time of judgment; the Greek word apostasia means, well, apostasy, but possibly also refers to the Rapture; and the “man of lawlessness…, the son of destruction” (2 Thess. 2:3), the Antichrist, will be revealed prior to the Day of the Lord — but maybe also before the harpazo (the Rapture).

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